MOLON LABE Copper Coin

$ 11.39

Save
$ 0.60

Quantity

This OPSGEAR MOLON LABE Copper Coin is beautifully crafted in 1oz .999 Fine Copper. The coin is crafted with great detail on both the front and back of the coin.

The front of the coin depicts the spartan helmet with crossed swords in the background. The phrase "MOLON LABE" which is written above and below the helmet translates to "Come and Take them." The phrase that was spoken by King Leonidas during the Battle of Thermopylae after the Persian army demanded that the Spartans throw down their weapons. Instead, the Spartans held Thermopylae for three days. Although the Spartan contingent was ultimately destroyed, they inflicted serious damage on the Persian army. Most importantly, this delayed the Persians' progress to Athens, providing sufficient time for the city's evacuation to the island of Salamis. Though a clear defeat, Thermopylae served as a moral victory and inspired the Greek forces to crush the Persians at the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea.

The back side of the coin is designed after the Come and Take it flag. It features two crossed AR-15's with a star and the phrase "Come and Take it" listed above and a cannon pictured below. In early January 1831, Green DeWitt wrote to Ramón Músquiz, the top political official of Bexar, and requested armament for defense of the colony of Gonzales. This request was granted by delivery of a small used cannon. The small bronze cannon was received by the colony and signed for on March 10, 1831, by James Tumlinson, Jr. The swivel cannon was mounted to a blockhouse in Gonzales, Texas and later was the object of Texas pride. At the minor skirmish known as the Battle of Gonzales—the first battle of the Texas Revolution against Mexico—a small group of Texans successfully resisted the Mexican forces who had orders from Col. Domingo de Ugartechea to seize their cannon. As a symbol of defiance, the Texans had fashioned a flag containing the phrase "come and take it" along with a black star and an image of the cannon which they had received four years earlier from Mexican officials—this was the same message that was sent to the Mexican government when they told the Texans that they had to return their cannon—failure to comply with the Mexicans' original demands led to the failed attempt by the Mexican military to forcefully take back the cannon.